Paul Reiser gets back in his comfort zone

A joke might be inspired by a friend’s pet phrase, such as, “It’s all good.” "But it’s not all good,” Paul Reiser says, understanding the intent while picking apart the literal meaning.

Deborah J. Botti

A joke might be inspired by a friend’s pet phrase, such as, “It’s all good.”

“But it’s not all good,” Paul Reiser says, understanding the intent while picking apart the literal meaning. “Haven’t you watched the news lately? OK, it’s all good because we’re alive ...”

Sometimes the blatant humor in a situation can’t help but hit him in the face. He’ll relay the story and hear, “You should use that.” And he does – after adding a few colorful details and choice words.

Other times, his interest is piqued by something he sees or hears.

“I’ll tease it apart and find the funny,” he says.

One thing’s for sure, though, and that’s that Reiser’s comedy is centered on his life.

“Bill Cosby used to say ... ‘What’s personal is universal,’ so I talk about my kids, my marriage, being a man in his 50s,” says Reiser, who’s been married for 25 years, has two children and whose career has swelled outside the boundaries of stand-up comedy, finding success in movies, television, music and writing – all with a common thread of humor. And it’s humor he’ll be bringing Friday to the Paramount Theatre, as the now-LA resident returns to the East Coast.

“There’s a home-court advantage,” he says. “It feels like getting together with old friends.”

And he’s not just referring to location; rather, to the return to the stage itself.

“It’s as it started – with stand-up being the nice backdrop, my ‘day job.’ All the other stuff is icing,” he says.

Reiser grew up in a loud, funny family where music was also big, but he didn’t particularly stand out. He remembers being mesmerized by the comedians on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and played Mel Brooks and George Carlin records until they were almost worn out.

“But I still didn’t know if I could do this,” he says. “It was a dream to go onstage like that.”

During a summer between semesters at SUNY Binghamton, a time when the stand-up concept was really catching on, he performed for the first time at a comedy club in the city, Catch a Rising Star.

“I had to get a number and come back at midnight,” he says. “I didn’t get any laughs, but when I returned to school I was able to say ‘I was a comedian this summer.’”

At the age of 26, he appeared on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” and talked about his father conserving energy by shutting off the heat.

“That was a career highlight. I was comedically a baby, and looked so uninformed,” he says.

Still, the career cake was launched, and the icing just followed.

“I stumbled into the wrong office and landed my first acting job in ‘Diner,’” he says, the first of many film roles. He wrote “The Thing About My Folks,” which he starred in with Peter Falk and Olympia Dukakis.

He also co-created and starred in the acclaimed TV series “Mad About You,” a comedic venue for him to explore the crazy, elusive dance of young love.

“It’s intriguing, frustrating ... and how did I lose this argument,” he says. “Comedy was the place to make it OK.”

He also wrote its theme song, “Final Frontier,” selected by NASA to be broadcast on Mars.

But a couple of years back while onstage hosting a charity event, he got that stand-up itch again.

“It had been on the back burner for about 20 years, so I wanted to do it right, not just use old jokes,” says Reiser, who got his feet wet at a club he frequents in LA. “After a year and a half, I was ready to entertain again.”

“It’s better than last time. I think that’s because you know who you are and are comfortable in your own shoes.”

And there’s more icing. He’s in two Sundance Film Festival contenders – “Life After Beth” and “Whiplash.” He’s writing a pilot for next year and is in a new FX show ... this time someone else’s.

“It’s a busy time again after some joyful calm,” he says.

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